North Carolina football is just 3-5 on the season, after taking a 27-10 victory over Syracuse last week. The bad season has led to questions about the future of Bill Belichick. Still, for as bad as the season at North Carolina has been for Belichick, he has a reason to be happy today.

According to Adam Shefter of ESPN, Belichick is one of nine semifinalists as a coach for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2026.

Belichick was previously named as a nominee, and now has made the cut to a semifinalist. The former New England Patriots head coach became eligible to be elected after a rule change, which allowed coaches who were just one full season removed from coaching in the NFL to be elected.

Belichick is one of nine coaches currently in the semifinalist pool. The group will be cut down to just one by a committee. That one coach will then be combined with one contributor and three senior candidates for a final vote. Between one and three of those five finalists can be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by getting at least 80 percent of the vote from the full committee.

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Belichick is up against a tough group of coaches to make it in his first time on the ballot. Other semifinalists include Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert, and Mike Shanahan. Coughlin, Shanahan, and Seifert all won two Super Bowls as head coaches. Meanwhile, Shanahan has the honor of seeing four of his former assistants sitting as current NFL head coaches.

Regardless, the resume of Belichick speaks for itself. He is second in wins all-time with 333, just behind Don Shula. Further, in his time with the Patriots, he was a nine-time AFC Champion and a six-time Super Bowl winner. He also won two other Super Bowls as an assistant.

What could make things interesting is if he is a finalist along with his former boss from the contributor category. Robert Kraft is one of 21 contributors who are nominees for this class. It is possible, both of them are enshrined forever in Canton, Ohio, on the same day.